Oh boy.

Here we are again with another original.

This…is going to be a weird one I think. Just looking at the idea in my head, I'm unsure whether this is going to be fun or just weird but with the characters set to appear, I hope I can make you laugh even if it is for a tiny bit with what is set to happen. Although while that might have piqued your interest, I want to make sure I can get straight into this as fast as I can.

So, for that, we'll start with the Q & A:

whwsms: Glad you enjoyed it; last chapter was one of my slower ones which is alright to have every now and then.

Guest: I didn't think about it but I reckon you'd be right in that Index would be good at piano, especially since it's mostly a memory game.

5queso: Thanks for the kind words! In terms of having a depressed Touma, I don't think it's something that I'd explore in BTL, mainly because it's so prominent in ACUL0. Also, if it's 'reactions' that you are looking for, then I don't think that BTL would be the proper place to do that because of how I would want to spend a lot of time breaking that down. That's just me though!

craytherlay: Music theory is actually really hard when researching it… I'll keep that in mind for Index's abuse: maybe I ca tone it down in future chapters where it's not necessary?

xellos540: I like to think that the only reason that Index hurts Touma is because she trusts him to not break things off when it happens, as said in OT 6. As a result, you'll only have Index being biting Touma because she fully trusts him to not cast her aside. However, then again, it's more of an anime ting; you'll never (or barely) see that type of thing in Western media. And yeah, Stiyl explained Sheol Fear to Touma back in OT 7. I've always called power sockets power points so it's just my bias there.

paeluclucas: ¡Muchas gracias!

03-LAKYAS: It's so weird seeing someone read from the beginning…and you have my endless thanks in doing so. I personally wish that there were more fics with Otohime, but the only thing that I can do is include her from time to time, haha! I was hoping to have at least someone fooled when it comes to the Delta Force, but it clearly wasn't you! I hope you keep an eye out for the Rumour, the ending I have planned will hopefully surprise you… I don't want to even imagine a Touma x Touma pairing…

5had0wHand: I'm so glad that you found the bits and pieces I added to Arisa's backstory to be interesting! As for your request, it's definitely going to be interesting writing about Krans, that's for sure. I'll give it a shot, but as you can probably tell, it's going to be a while before that one shot ever sees the light of day unfortunately…

And the thanks to you, the reader. There is a lot I make you go through when it comes to these stories and yet, here you are still managing to push through with this craziness. For that alone, for the fact you have managed to keep up with me this entire time and haven't given up on me just yet, I want you to know I am endlessly in your debt. Thank you.

And from me, as we get into this chapter, I hope you do what you always do with these works:

Enjoy.

Mr Question Mark.

An Intermission Between Right Hands. The_Deck_of_Cards_Holding_A_Joker.

No matter what anyone said, no matter what anyone created and no matter what the future held for those within the Kamijou Residence, it was only the present and the harsh reality there that mattered to them.

Yes.

After all the hotpot promised to them was not going to be coming any time soon!

"…I'm going to die."

"When it's you saying that, that's a serious issue! I realise we have to do something about Kamisato but shouldn't we worry about ourselves first?!"

Kamijou Touma let out that shout within his dorm room, but the other occupants only sat down at the kotatsu in the middle of the room, basking in its warmth. Even though that was a staple Japanese way of keeping warm, the tarp on the window leading to the balcony let in a chilly breeze all the same. It was rather ridiculous to have the kotatsu located directly in front of the window which was barely keeping the cold out but on a usual occasion, that would have not have been any problem whatsoever.

It was only an issue in this one instance because of the charming and dandy old man mummy called the High Priest who had used the Arrowhead Comet to return to Earth after being blasted into outer space. Having smashed all the windows when the Comet had smashed apart in mid-air over Academy City was having a lasting effect and it was clear that old man's influence was here to stay.

The chilling cold indirectly caused by that old man mummy who was no more made the people sitting at the kotatsu shiver. For the holder of Imagine Breaker, the occupants sitting there were nothing but trouble magnets but for any other magician, they likely would have fainted on the spot when looking at them.

At the simple kotatsu were one Magic God, one former Magic God, a Magic God candidate and the leader of the largest Golden style cabal within Europe.

For any magician who knew of the worth of each of those people, they would have trembled within their boots and perhaps even bowed down in prostration for the power those people held.

But for that type of normal high school boy you could find anywhere, they were nothing more than four hungry girls.

Nephthys, her brown body covered in nothing but bandages; Othinus, sitting face up on the table and breathing with exhaustion; Index, her head on the table and having what looked like her soul leaving her mouth and Leivinia Birdway, the kind of girl who looked out of place within a mere student dorm despite how tired she looked lying down on the floor, all showed their tiredness through their actions and their lack of responsiveness.

Being just before 10 in the evening, the four girls and their stomachs were not yet satisfied. While that in itself was a major incident, the incidents that had surrounded one Kamisato Kakeru and World Rejecter within his right hand as well as the chaos surrounding Leivinia's sister, Patricia, and the solution Leivinia had to save her involving cannibalisation of an extra fruit she was growing within her body, had made getting ingredients for a hotpot all but impossible.

It was a strange scene, seeing some of the most powerful people in the world reduced to this. Sure, Nephthys had been affected by World Rejecter in part making her weaker than a grade schooler, but the power to ruin a country literally sat at that table without a care in the world.

Whether it because they were focusing on the issue of the hotpot (Index and Othinus), Kamisato and World Rejecter (Nephthys) or the issue with Patricia (Leivinia), it was clear their focus was all located in different places at the current time. Yet, even if they had different focuses right now, they were all realising the problem of the lack of hotpot. The grumbling from Index's stomach was something Kamijou wanted to record; he was sure it would be good for a kaiju movie of some sort.

The only thing they had managed to eat was Kamijou-san's sausage.

His fish sausage he had gotten at an early lunch of course! There were no misunderstandings to be had in that description!

But without that, the only thing they had which were edible were miso, water and soy sauce. It was clear the psychological effect this was having on the group as they sat at the table even if they knew they had to focus on more important issues.

"When was the last time I had an offering? It seems so long ago, but for some reason, I don't begrudge those poor people who offered things up to me anymore. To think they were giving me everything while I scoffed and looked down at them for it!"

"Heh. This is what you get for being full size. A healthy 15 centimetres is all you need to be happy."

"Do you think that haughty former Magic God would taste good wrapped in foil and thrown in the oven?"

"Anything is good as long as Touma can do something about this…"

"Meow…"

"No! We're not going to eat Othinus and we're not going to be resorting to cannibalism early to solve the problem at hand. And Sphynx, even if you add something there, the answer is still no! Besides, look at her! If there anything even there worth eating?! If we were to eat a Magic God, it would be better if we had something more filling!"

Naturally, given Kamijou's remarks, all the heads turned to look at the former Magic God lying on top of the table. She was facing up on the table such that her bodylines could be seen given she was wearing basically nothing. Then all heads turned to the other Magic God, full size, who was lying with her upper half on the table, imagining Nephthys at 15 centimetres.

"…I guess if Nephthys were 15 centimetres, she would have a lot more fat on her."

It was an off-comment remark from Index, but the moment she made it, all eyes turned to the large breasts squished on top of the kotatsu. Comparing with the meagre things Othinus had (after all, they were proportional to her size at 15 centimetres), it was clear which Magic God would be a better meal if wrapped up in foil.

"N-No! There is more to food than just eating the fat off it! A balanced diet isn't just eating meat and, in most cases, the fat on it is bad for you. So all of you put those utensils away and stop approaching Nephthys as if you have throw away all moral values!"

Kamijou, who had been trying to think of things to make in the kitchen, was not so open minded in cooking that he wanted to try literal breast meat. Was it even meat then? Or just fat? The world would surely be a strange place if, in times of need, girls shaved off parts of their breasts for the sake of food and in this Kamijou Residence, the landlord was not going to allow something such as that to happen to someone he had said he would protect.

He slapped away the hands of Birdway and Index who had picked up chopsticks and were clacking them together eagerly. They were defeated surprisingly easily given the power they held within them and sat with their heads on the table, their feet underneath the kotatsu.

Nephthys though, having been saved, rose her head, blinking once before using her hands to lift up the masses sitting on top of the table. Without even thinking about it the chocolate skinned beauty with silver hair held her breasts in front of her thoughtfully. The way the bandages accented the parts of her body that normally were hidden was clearly erotic in more ways than one but the lack of shame due to her hunger the Magic God had meant she just stared at her large breasts before turning up and looking at Kamijou.

The spiky haired boy, whose strike zone was an older woman (especially a dorm manager) with a killer body felt his body freeze up, warmth coming onto his cheeks as he locked eyes with the Magic God. She just stared at him, before pushing her hands, which were holding her breasts, forward.

"I-If it means we can eat - !"

"Rejected! I know you need to have a screw loose to be a Magic God, but are you nuts?! There's no way I'm doing that! This Kamijou-san knows several recipes for breast but none of them tell me what to do when a chocolate-skinned beauty with silver hair offers hers up to me! How are you going to remove them anyway? D-Don't tell me you Magic Gods can readily remove those types of body parts without a second thought?"

Kamijou paled at the thought as he made it. A certain blue haired idiot who would have wet himself at the idea and made all the Magic Gods remove their breasts so he could smother himself in them popped into his head but he rapidly shook the idea out. Knowing the Magic Gods, doing such would involve some hellish contract which involved being their scorer which Kamijou had desperately wanted to avoid but even so, the redness of his cheeks was one he found hard to remove.

Nephthys on the other hand, offering her breasts up to the chef Kamijou as an offering (and not noting the reversal of positions between the two of them), only tilted her head.

"We can do more than that of course. There are stories where we change our forms or gender freely so removing breasts or making them smaller or larger is no problem whatsoever."

"M-Making them la – ?!"

Kamijou stood stock still, his words catching in his throat. His mouth went wide as he stared down at the breasts being handed to him. There was the chance they could be…bigger?

N-No, it was the inside that counted! It was personality and it didn't matter if someone had the personality of a dorm manager but not the body for it! There was no way he was regretting not becoming the scorer of the Magic Gods if it meant he could mass produce dorm managers! None whatsoever!

Trying his best to maintain his cool nature, the spiky haired boy turned to face the former Magic God lying face up on the table. Looking at her chest and remembering what it had looked like when she was full size was more than enough to make the racing heart of Kamijou calm down, turning back to Nephthys, who was better than Othinus in a few ways.

"Nephthys, I don't want your breasts and I am sure the way they are is fine. Size doesn't matter, unless it's about the heart within you." Kamijou said with a calm voice, placing a hand on the shoulder of the Magic God, the woman staring up at him rather surprised.

"Human, there are a number of things I want to say about the way you just looked at me. You think I couldn't make my breasts larger when I was at full power? That I couldn't make my body the way that Egyptian pseudo-deity makes hers look like?" Othinus spat out harsh words but Nephthys was far too tired to say anything on the matter, falling down onto the table once more and squishing her large breasts against it.

Kamijou on the other hand, wanting to avoid a fight and also wanting to make sure he did not unleash the inner desires within him, replied while shaking his hand back and forth.

"No, no, Othi-chan. I love you the way you are and wouldn't have you any other way."

Othinus jumped, clearly startled by the words. Her face went a tiny bit red at that before she turned her head the other way, her witch's hat covering part of her face from Kamijou. She huddled up into a foetal position and played with the ends of her hair, speaking all the same.

"A-As long as you understand that, human, then you're fine. It's because you're like this that you're my Understander after all!" Othinus said that with a quiet voice that was unlike her. Kamijou wanted to say something about her sudden shyness but was interrupted before he could.

"Touma, you might not want Nephthys's breasts, but I do!"

"I-Index?! What is this sudden desire for a larger chest!? You've got a lot of growing to do in various areas so there's nothing wrong with the size you have now! There's nothing wrong whatsoever! If you had a large chest at your age, that's what I would be worrying about. I mean, look at Fukiyose. Think of the back issues!"

"…Are you picking a fight, Touma? What's wrong with my chest?!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?! Are you or are you not talking about these breasts right here?"

Kamijou pointed rather rudely at the large mounds in question, Nephthys shifting slightly as a result. It was unclear why she was embarrassed when she had offered them up before, but as a God, mere humans were not supposed to understand her in the first place.

"I am! But I don't want them on me. I want them in me!" Index declared, slamming her hands on top of the table as she pouted and complained. Kamijou, finally having managed to understand what she was getting at shook his hand in front of his face.

"We already went through this! No one is going to be eating Nephthys's breasts!"

"Now hold on a minute."

The sinister voice that came through the air made both Kamijou and Index feel a chill, turning their heads to stare at the girl who had made it. Previously lying on the floor, Birdway had risen and had put her hands together, her gaze suggesting what she was saying and thinking was along the lines of the choices she made as the leader of the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight.

"Japan is a democracy. If you think this dorm is a representative of the civilised society you so want to protect, then don't you think you should cast a vote? Namely, whether you value the Magic God's breasts more or your survival more, dependent on whether we eat those lumps of fat! Do I really need to go through the obvious choice until you get it through your thick headed skull which one allows us to survive!?" Birdway slammed her fist on the table, a tick forming on her forehead as she slammed on the table again.

"Survive!? It takes a person at least two months to die of starvation if they have water and we have water! You're not going to perish that easily, Birdway, so choosing to eat Nephthys's breasts merely because you are a bit hungry is a bit…"

"I vote in favour of eating the breasts."

"I-Index?!"

The horrors of democracy were made clear in how Index rose her hand in the air and stared dead ahead with no emotion in her eyes. She had clearly cast herself aside and surpassed the human emotions of guilt and rational choice to reach enlightenment but why she could not do so by throwing away her hungry made Kamijou stare at her in shock.

"I vote in favour!"

"O-Othinus?!"

"As you can see, the votes have been cast. Even if you decide against us, there is nothing you can do to prevent the inevitable! So hurry up and give us something to eat, damn it! Get those breasts within that damn hotpooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!"

Birdway screamed, rolling on the floor and having a tantrum. Clearly in her exhaustion, she did not realise that doing that was only making her more tired but it was one of those rare times the leader of the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight showed she was truly a 12 year old girl instead of being the leader of a feared magic cabal.

Kamijou, being forced to deal with the stupid brats, twitched but as he stared closer at the trio of idiots who had made the suggestion and everyone else in the room, the commonality between them was obvious.

Index – small chest.

Birdway – very small chest.

Othinus – had a small chest now but since her chest was proportional to her 15 centimetre size, was it really the case?

Kamijou – not really the issue here.

Sphynx – again, not really the issue here, but then again, do cats have breast meat?

Nephthys – the only one with a large chest.

The Small Chest Alliance had clearly banded together in their time of need to oust the only person they felt was in the wrong for having a large chest and covering it up with the veil of democracy. The wrongful use of political systems for isolating the minority was clear even in this dorm room and suddenly, the politically neutral Kamijou-san felt himself moving towards anarchy; or more specifically known as the destruction of the democracy Birdway and the others had created.

"H-Hang on guys, clearly we have an issue on our hands we have to deal with! Are we going to fight amongst each other? Or are we going to work together to reach the solution to the problem we are all having? I believe in you! All of you can surely make the right decision here!"

Kamijou, with sparkles in his eyes, stared at everyone. They only stared at him before looking at each other and nodding once after a small pause, turning back to the spiky haired idiot and speaking all at once.

"Food."

"Food."

"Food."

"All of you are terrible! How can relationships built between us fall apart so easily just because we are hungry? Is this really the power of food? W-Well as the person who has decided to protect Nephthys, I will do so! Even if it against you! I did it with Othinus so there is nothing holding me back now! If you want to have to deal with her, you'll have to go through me!"

"…So that's the way it's going to be."

A dark aura came over Birdway who stared at the boy in front of her, slowly standing up. She cracked her neck, twitching slightly as she reached for something on the table, bringing up the two chopsticks given to her by Kamijou. She held them in both hands, pointing them at Kamijou like tiny swords, her eyes showing the desperation of someone who knew true hunger and was not going to back down on the idea she would be able to receive what she so longed for.

If that meant she had to challenge the boy in front of her, then she was more than ready to do so. All presumptions of the connection between them were overthrown in her desperation for meat (even if it was technically fat). If it was for the desire to have her hunger quenched, then there was no limit to what Birdway was willing to do. That much was clear in the way her eyes shone dangerously.

Kamijou went wide eyed at the sight of it, before pausing and going silent.

There was nothing to be said.

This was a fight over food after all.

And he had done that so many times in this one space that he had lost count.

"Nephthys. Stand back."

"I'm sitting."

"Sit back."

"There's nothing to lean against."

"Work with me here!"

Birdway leaped the moment Kamijou made his shout. If they had bothered to work together to solve this issue, then she would not have been wasting unnecessary energy in dealing with this but as the older figure in this, Kamijou knew he could not merely allow Birdway to go off the rails as she was now.

The hunger has distorted her mind and made her do something entirely crazy: he knew that. Which meant it was time for the spiky haired boy to show off the skills he had polished within this very space and in a conflict much like this one.

Kamijou wasted no time, grabbing the chopsticks in front of him and spinning them in his grasp just as Birdway lunged forward with her own towards his eyes. Yet, within an expert movement, he parried the chopsticks with a pair of his own, knocking Birdway's wrists to the side and holding the chopsticks straight in front of him.

Birdway was able to put on the breaks just in time, going white in the face as she stared at the flat tips millimetres from her face. If she had not stopped, she ran the risk of having her eyes poked out with disposable wooden chopsticks. A sweat came from her forehead as she stared at Kamijou, her eyes searching for any kind of emotion on his face but finding it was extremely cool and measured.

"…That type of skill with chopsticks doesn't come from the type of normal high school boy you can find anywhere. Do you pluck flies from mid-air with them or try and steal their wings while they fly around you? Because this is a skill with chopsticks I've rarely seen in anyone." Birdway's eyes were narrowed as she spoke.

His parry of her movements with the chopsticks had been too refined. There had been too much finesse and technique within it that Birdway could not think of it as mere coincidence that he had acted the way he had. With the chopsticks still in her hands but pointed up, she stared at the boy beyond the chopsticks he held, one in each hand. He waved them slightly, his gaze entirely serious.

"It's nothing that amazing. It's just I've had a lot of practice using chopsticks and learning the tricks behind making sure they are utilised effectively and properly."

"…How?"

"When you have Index as a roommate, you have to learn to try and steal food when you can and as fast as you can. Otherwise it's gone faster than a 1000 Yen note on a supermarket sale."

"I can't understand your analogy but that is just pitiful. Are you telling me I was defeated in the art of chopsticks by a high schooler who can't defeat a single nun in food combat?!" Birdway shouted at the top of her lungs. However, the response that came from someone did not come from Kamijou.

"No. You do not understand, you fool of a girl."

Birdway turned her head down to face Othinus on the table, her one eye staring up at her and holding a look that felt as though she were recalling a distant battle past.

"There are no survivors when it involves food against that nun. Everything…is just taken. I've created a black hole using my powers as a Magic God before, but even that can be explained. That nun's stomach…it is beyond science and magic. To be able to fight it as my Understander has; he has learned the art of living with little food and the art of stealing what he can when he can. If you think you can take him on with chopsticks, then you are fighting an uphill battle."

"Ha…"

Nephthys stared at Kamijou who was holding Birdway at bay using nothing but a pair of chopsticks. She hadn't worked with Kamijou and had her upper half of her body on the table, shifting a bit and moving her large breasts (and the ingredient for the hotpot) across its surface. She let out a small laugh from her throat before it erupted into something else entirely.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Yes! This is the holder of the Imagine Breaker, the one who was to be the scorer of us and the one who we thought would save all the Magic Gods! This type of joker is someone who has to have refined this type of stupid ability such that he can proudly claim he has mastered the way of the chopsticks!"

Nephthys grinned, staring at the boy in front of her with sparkling eyes. A massive grin was on her face where she sat, something rather seductive in the way she spoke her next words.

"Show me, Kamijou Touma. Show me just what you are capable of!"

They were just chopsticks but put that aside for the moment.

That ability of his had been refined through constant battles with Index who had scarfed up food better than a black hole. Her stomach was deeper than a bottomless pit and if you were to study it, you would probably understand the concepts of infinite within an instant. That boy had refined his chopstick ability in that type of hell and even if she had the capabilities of the leader of the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight behind her, even Leivinia Birdway felt a drop of sweat roll down her face.

"You certainly have come a long way since Denmark." She said.

They were still chopsticks, but you'll have to ignore that part.

"I won't let you eat Nephthys's breasts."

"Touma, how can you say that with a straight face?"

"With much difficulty! And whose side are you on right now, Index? Because you and Othinus have been sitting there doing nothing this entire time! Are you with me or against me?"

"Huh? I'm against you, Touma."

"An instant answer?!"

"As am I!"

"E-Even you Othinus!? B-But I thought as my Understander you would – "

"Human, you forget something." said Othinus as she lay on the table face up. "Even if we are Understanders of each other, that does not mean we agree on everything. In fact, it is because we understand each other that we can have those disagreements but still accept each other. You know why I am doing this by siding with this haughty magic cabal boss. And I know why you are protecting that Magic God. So there is nothing to complain about here. Just the end result of the battle to take place."

Kamijou grit his teeth, knowing what Othinus was saying was true. If they agreed on everything, then they would not be Understanders but just someone who was convenient to have around given they understood each other. It was because they could still have disagreements that made their bonds so powerful and made their connection as Understanders just as strong.

The same was said of Index as well.

Even if she was against Kamijou in this instant, the fact she could state how she was against Kamijou so smoothly was not because she hated him. But rather, it was because she knew and trusted Kamijou to have her by his side after all this was over even with that disagreement. Kamijou held the same sentiment, he trusted Index would choose to take him back after this was over even with their disagreement.

He was here to protect someone (?).

So even if he was hated by the rest of the world for it, he would do that very thing he had vowed to do at the bottom of his heart.

That was just who he was after all.

Even so though, even if the way he was was coursing through him, the reality of the situation was obvious. Right now, he was alone against the Small Chest Alliance with nothing but a pair of chopsticks.

Would he be able to take them on?

The answer came from a god.

More specifically, the one behind him.

"Oh? If that is the case, when one god abandons a human, it is the duty of the other gods to take pity on him and accept him. Is that not the role of the gods who overlook and watch the humans below us? Rejoice, Kamijou Touma. Because on this night, I will give you my full support. Very few humans have the ability to say they have earned the support of the crying woman at funerals in this way."

That sensual voice came through the air as Nephthys licked her lips. She shifted her body on top of the table, grinning all the while. The silence in the air was clear as Birdway and Kamijou flinched, unsure of how the support of the Magic God was going to manifest and in what way.

The silence continued for a small bit before Kamijou, unable to bear the pressure in his chest, turned and faced the exotic woman.

"Um…Nephthys?"

"Yes? What is it? Are you asking me for more support? Unfortunately, I think adding a cheerleader uniform would add more layers than removing them." Carelessly, Nephthys reached for the bandages wrapped around her and lifted one of them up, revealing more of the brown skin beneath. Since she was wearing nothing but those bandages, they tugged at her and came close to revealing very important parts.

Desperately, Kamijou turned away with sweat rolling down his face as he challenged Birdway with his dual chopsticks.

"Didn't you say you would support me?"

"Did you want a kiss?"

"YES!" Kamijou's eyes went so wide and his roar ripped through the air immediately. He composed himself soon after though, coughing and managing to get his thoughts back in order. "I-I mean, weren't you going to, I don't know, power me up?"

Nephthys, on the table, stared at the boy as if he were stupid.

"Of course not," came her immediate answer. "After facing Kamisato, I'm barely able to stand and you want me to provide you with magic support? Imagine Breaker would negate it anyway so it would be pointless in the first place."

"So what are you going to do?! They want your breasts! They went after my sausage so I wouldn't put it past them!"

"…As much as I want to say something to that, my support was going to be limited to cheering."

"…"

"Goooooooooooooo… Ah, that made me tired."

"So weak!"

Nephthys, entirely out of energy, placed her head on the table. Kamijou, having received the support of the Magic God went pale as he realised that was all he was going to get. In front of him, Birdway grinned maliciously and placed her hands on her hips.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! This is what you get for choosing to fight the leader of the Dawn-Coloured Sunlight! Did you really think with the three of us against you, you could win? Down with the large chests! What's so great about the ability to wear a bra in the first place?! With the support of these two with me, there is nothing you can… Wait."

Birdway stopped as she spoke, realising the massive commonality in what she was saying and what had happened with Kamijou. She gulped, turning to face Index and Othinus and hesitantly spoke.

"You two. You said you would support me but…"

"I'm not giving you a kiss." Index said, however, with the way her face went lightly red as did Kamijou's as they turned away from each other, it was clear there was something there everyone else was missing.

"Neither am I. There's only one person I am even remotely close to for that and you will never, even if you destroyed the universe and rewrote my mind, be the person capable of receiving that type of affection from me." Othinus didn't even blush as she spoke bluntly on the table clearly finding her words to be more fact than a plea from her heart.

This, however, left Birdway with the same dilemma as Kamijou.

"…So who is supporting me?"

"Go team!"

"Down with the Egyptian pseudo-deity!"

Both girls came those replies that were lacking in energy. Birdway had her mouth open, twitching once as she stared at Kamijou in front of her and the chopsticks pointed her way. Kamijou grinned as he faced her, the way his eyes sparkled showing he was more than serious.

"Are you ready for this Birdway? There's a kiss on the line for me."

"Eh?" asked Nephthys. "We were doing that?"

"Eh!?" asked Kamijou, turning his head so fast to face her that it was a blur. "We weren't!? Y-You played with the heart of this normal high school boy…as if it were a toy?! You monster. How can you think to do that when I was quivering in anticipation?!"

"I thought it was quivering due to low blood sugar levels."

"T-This is exactly why you guys were overthrown by Kamisato and in every other legend there is about you guys! You suck! All of you suck! Why can't you listen to the pleas of others around you?! You know what, I think you need a good lesson in how to treat others. You might have been a normal magician at the beginning, but I think all that time up in Olympus or whatever has meant you have forgotten what being human means."

"You idiot, Olympus was – "

"Shut up!"

Kamijou turned and flung both chopsticks at Birdway's head. So weak she was that the moment they impacted her, she fell backwards on her butt, dropping her chopsticks in clear defeat. She did not think of it any more than she had to though as she fell limp, her body drained of all energy due to her lack of food.

"As for you, you wannabe god, you're coming with me! It's time you got a good lecture in what to say and when to say it! All the pent up frustration dealing with you guys has meant I've got all this stuff I want to say and nowhere to put it! Prepare yourself! You thought Kamisato was bad?! Prepare yourself for my Speech no Jutsu!"

"…Wait, what?"

Nephthys was unable to say anything in response as she was grabbed by the nape by the frustrated Kamijou who, let's face it, had a lot of pent up emotions that he could rightfully blame on God or some other higher being. While shouting at the sky was not going to work, it was apparent that a god had appeared within his dorm room who was not his Understander.

Even if he had vowed to protect her, that did not stop the small Kamijou inside of him wanting to give the god an earful of the crap he had been made to go through these past few months.

Kamijou dragged Nephthys outside into the cold, who screamed as she was dragged out of the kotatsu and into the cold December air. The girls at the table and in safety watched them go without any emotion on their faces, staring at each other all the same.

Were they really sitting on a crisis that involved World Rejecter, Patricia Birdway and a hotpot?

It was hard to say.

But it certainly didn't seem like it from the conversation outside.

"Firstly, you shitty god, let me tell you a few things about yourself – Wait, are you crying already?! I haven't even started!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I-It's not my fault! It's my constitution as a Magic God doing this but for whatever you're about to say, it's not my fault! Even if Imagine Breaker negates your fortune and anything good that can happen to you – "

"Yes! Let's start with that! The lack of a kiss issue we'll leave until later but let's start with that!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

If anything though, what was easy to say was that the Speech no Jutsu was a fearful thing if it could bring a god to tears.

What is there to say about this one?

I'm not even sure. As a whole, I do think this one-shot fit the one-shot structure a lot more than a lot of my other works but the main reason for that really has to be because I wasn't dealing with some massive issue, looking into the characters here too much or anything as overly complicated as that which you are probably used to from me. Instead, this was just a small piece of work focusing entirely on nothingness. For whatever you felt about this, I hope you really came to enjoy this one-shot, turned off your brain and just lost yourself in how utterly ridiculous this was.

As long as you did that, had a small laugh here and there even if the topic of conversation was just stupidity at its core, I am happy. There was very little to think about this time and no major issues and I would even go as far to say that taking this with a grain of salt is the 'right' way to view this. As long as you had fun though, that is all that matters.

And as always
Review if you please.

And I'll see you when I see you and I won't if I don't.

This was just strange but also short, which is also something good for me given how long the other chapters are. It feels weird, but is this one of the fabled 'short chapters' that happens once in a while in monthly manga? I feel like ACUL0 is always long so maybe having a short BTL allows for the immersion to break there. Hopefully in the future chapters can have the same structure, even if they might not have the same silliness!